


For the price of a smile

by Eva_O_tangledfan



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Angst, Drug Use, Fluff and Angst, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28964397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eva_O_tangledfan/pseuds/Eva_O_tangledfan
Summary: King Raymond of Dorr has always loved cute things, when he sees Varian for the first time he just knew that he had to have him- no matter the cost
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	For the price of a smile

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I just made my account and I'm a little new to this but I'm so excited to start posting stuff. This was the first ever angst I wrote. Its not amazing but I'm proud of it. Anyway I'm just glad to be here and hope you enjoy!

_ King Raymond looked at the picture in his hand, it was of a young boy,  _

"Who is this!" He yelled.

"W-why that's the R-royal Engineer of C-Corona my Lord." His advisor stuttered

"He- he's  _ perfect!  _ Bring him to me! I don't care what you do! _ I need that boy!"  _

The guards in the room gave each other concerned looks, You see their King had always been obsessed with the cute and adorable things of this world, as a Prince he received anything he desired. He had many pets, stuffed animals and other things. He was very spoiled. This obsession continued into his early adult years as well and he never fully grasped the concept that not everything was or could be a pet. But they had to follow their King's orders and they knew what this meant. The King wanted a new  _ pet  _ and they had to go to Corona to get him. 

Corona was a long ways away and the guards put on the job of retrieving the boy were not so happy they had to kidnap a little boy. There were three of them and from what they could tell from the picture that seemed like overkill, he was a very small kid and probably couldn't put up much of a fight. They finally got to the palace and looked around. They were royal guards, would they be allowed entry? No, probably best to sneak in. It was night and they had been watching the castle for a while. They saw the "target" go in and figured they'd snag him on the way out. Then they saw him, they followed him away from the palace, there were too many guards, once they were alone they jumped out from their cover

"Whoa! Who are you!? What are you doing!" He managed to get out before they knocked him unconscious. They felt terrible doing it so they tried to make it fast. 

"Sorry kid, we've got no choice." The lady guard said. The hulking male guard lifted the boy into a sack and slung him over his shoulder. There was another young guard with them too he wasn't exactly needed though. Like they expected the boy didn't put up much of a fight. They walked to the cart and horses they had and started the journey home. A few hours into the trip there was a stirring from the sack,

"He's waking up! What do we do!?" The younger guard whisper shouted.

"Hit him again." Said the large man as he smacked the boys head again.

"We have a sedative you know." the woman said as she held up a needle. She pulled his thin arm out of the bag. "Hey Jace hold his arm for me will ya?" The young man climbed into the back of the cart and held the boy's arm steady so Corin (the lady guard) could have a clearer shot. 

"Needle can't do anything my fist can't." Tyrone grumbled.

"Yes but,  _ needle _ won't give him a concussion or smash his head in." Corin replied. She put the needle into the boy's arm and went back to her normal seat in the cart. The rest of the journey was spent chatting and just normal stuff you do on a long trip. Once they got back to the castle they picked up the sack and headed to the throne room

King Raymond saw them approaching and clapped his hands with joy "You have him?" He asked expectantly Corin nodded and Tyrone set the sack on the floor. Perfect timing too because the sedative was wearing off. There was a moan from the bag and it shifted as a boy emerged from the sack. His head hurt, but why? What happened? Where was he? He was on his hands and knees, he tried to stand but couldn't. Looking around in confusion Varian found himself in a throne room but not the Coronin throne room he was familiar with. Where was he? There was a man in front of him looking at him with a large smile. 

"Wh-where am I?" He said. His head was pulsing, wait, those people from the bushes, did they take him here?

"Why my dear boy, you're in your new home!" The man came close and grabbed Varians jaw as to further inspect him, "Yes yes you will do nicely." He pet him on the head and then Varian winced in pain. "Did you damage him on the way here!? You know how I detest damaged goods!" He looked behind Varian. Following his gase Varian saw the people who attacked him in Corona.  _ What on earth is happening? Why am I here? What does he mean by "damaged goods"?  _ As his head began to clear he could tell this man was a monarch then those guys must be his guards but why did they need him?

A woman's voice interrupted his thoughts, "My King we apologize, but see the boy is fine, he will most likely just have a headache." Varian tried to stand again but stumbled a bit, to his surprise this caused the King to giggle 

"Oh he's absolutely  _ adorable!" _ Varian didn't see how him falling over was cute at all. "You!" He pointed at a large man "Take him to his room!" The man pulled Varian to his feet and guided him out of the room. They entered a hallway and Varian had pretty much had it with this whole thing

"Would someone please tell me what's going on!?" The guard looked down at him and said

"Sorry kid, but this is your life now, the King always gets what he wants." 

"And what exactly is that?"

"You."

"Me? Why?"

"Cuz he likes cute things. Kid, basically what happens now is he treats you like a collectable item and shows you off to the word. It's happened before but normally that's just with animals, he's never asked us to kidnap a little kid before." Varian was so confused. This King took him because he thought he was  _ cute? _ And now he's going to be trapped here against his will? And no one was gonna do anything? This guard obviously didn't agree with what was happening. How come he couldn't do anything? 

"My friends will come, they'll get me out of here." Of course they would, they'd never let this happen.

"Sorry kid but that can't happen, the King won't allow it." They got to this room in the palace and the guard put him inside then locked the door.

He wouldn't be here long, Dad and Rapunzel and Eugene and Lance would come for him, they'd save him, he looked out the bard window down on the town surrounding the castle. He had no idea where he was or how long he had been asleep. If he didn't know where he was how would everybody else? Did they even know he was gone? He had to get these doubts out of his head.  _ They'll come _ , he kept telling himself but he started to feel slightly afraid, what if they didn't? What if that guard was right and this was going to be his life? He sat down on the bed and pulled his knees into his chest, he wanted Ruddiger and Eugene and his Dad, he just wanted  _ someone _ . He had developed a fear of being alone after his time in jail and right now it was starting up again. As he sat there a steady stream of tears began to flow down his cheeks.

-

Back in Old Corona, Quirin was making breakfast for him and his son. "Varian! Breakfast is ready!" 

He didn't come. 

"Varian? Are you asleep still?" He walked up the stairs to Varians room and saw his empty bed. "Varian!? Where are you!?" He moved things around on his bed in an attempt to search for him. He was gone. Did he come home from work? Was he still at the castle? That's it, the castle! He probably stayed late and fell asleep. Quirin got there and the guards informed him that they saw him leaving. "No, he has to be here! He's not at home so he has to be here! Where else would he go!?" Quirin went back to Old Corona and looked around town for him. He was nowhere to be found. He searched the whole village and there was no sign of him anywhere. Where could he be?

-

Varian sat alone in his "room" for a while before anyone came to get him. A woman who seemed to be a maid or some kinda servant opened the door. 

"Varian correct? The King wishes to see you now. Please follow me." She spoke softly and her tone was gentle. He didn't really want to see their weirdo King but knew he didn't have much of a choice so he followed her to a sort of Tailors room. There was one of those changing currents and the King standing in the room with a bunch of maids and a man who he assumed to be the Tailor. 

"Ah there you are! You are just  _ perfect! _ But a perfect boy needs the perfect outfit." With that he clapped his hands and Varian was swarmed by maids. He was lifted to a stool and the Tailor started making measurements. 

"What is this for?" 

"Why it's your fitting, my dear boy! You can't very well go out in public like that. Raymond gestured at Varians current clothes. 

"No, I'm not staying here!" He tried to jump off the stool but was held there by the others. "I want to go home! I want to see my Dad and my friends!" King Raymond looked surprised at this remark, his pets never told him they wanted to leave why should this boy be any different? He must just be confused that's all. 

"Don't worry child, it'll all be fine." Varian wasn't so sure about this.

Despite his struggling the Tailor got the measurements he needed and grabbed some clothes off a rack. Then he was led behind the changing curtain. 

"Here this one, put it on." The King handed him an outfit off the rack, it had those weird puffy sleeves and the puffy around the leg part too. 

"Ha! No way am I putting that thing on!" It looked ridiculous, he may be being held against his will but he wasn't going to make a fool of himself in the process.

"Hmm Well if you won't change yourself... Then I suppose they have to." The maids all started walking towards him. He started to back up but bumped into another maid, it was like a scene from a horror movie (not that he knew what a movie was but still) they inched forward. He really did  _ not _ want any of them touching him or his clothes. They inched closer and closer.

"Alright! Alright! I'll put them on ok? Just call them off first, they're kinda freaking me out." Raymond smiled and then snapped, they stopped. Varian slid behind the curtain and began to change.

It was a little difficult to put on. He had never worn anything like it before. It felt weird and kinda uncomfortable. It was red and yellow mostly and the shoes, oh my gosh the shoes were the worst part, in that moment at least. They weren't like his hard boots, they were fabric-y and had a weird curl to them that was very impractical. As he emerged from the changing area the King came up to him quickly and squealed with excitement. 

"Now you're only missing two things!" Once he said this a cape was clipped around his neck and one of those big puffy hats with the feather in them. Except this one was too big. The brim slid down and covered his eyes.

"I thought that guy made measurements?" 

"Oh he did, but this is how it's supposed to be." Varian pushed the hat up out of his eyes and the King smiled down at him. "My point exactly. Isn't it cute? How he has to lift it up and then it'll fall and he has to lift it again?" He spoke as if Varian wasn't standing in front of him.  _ Was this guy for real? this man needs some serious help _ Varian thought to himself "Now aren't you precious my little trinket!"  _ Trinket? _ ok that was too far, Varian had really had it this time.

"HEY! Don't call me that!! I am not an object! don't treat me like one!" He pointed his finger right at Raymond and he just kept looking at him. 

"Why, you're so feisty! Oh aren't you just the cutest when you get mad!" Seriously? This guy just didn't get it. 

"I'm not cute! Stop saying that! I've had it!" In the worst moment possible his hat fell over his face.

"Not cute hmm?" He laughed to himself, "Have you seen a mirror lately my boy?"

Varian growled and threw the hat on the ground. "Now now, we must not misbehave or else no food, do you understand my precious?" Varian said nothing he just glared up at the man. "Good, now someone get him some dinner, oh and um-" he picked up the hat, dusted it off and put it on Varians head, "I believe you dropped this." And with that he was escorted to a dining room.

The dining room was large and there was lots of food on the table, Varian hadn't eaten the whole trip and only now did he realize how hungry he actually was. He was seated and the King walked in and sat down. They were on opposite ends of the long table and Raymond called out, "Please help yourself, you must be famished." They were served and they ate. This was the most normal thing he had done all day, and it was still weird! He wasn't used to being served, it was normally just him and his dad at dinner, and for some time it was just him. Raymond just looked at him the whole time but it was a weird look. Admiration or awe or something like that. Varian gave him the opposite look, he was mad but he had to eat so he didn't say anything.

"My dearest little one, how I love your voice, will you not enlighten me?" Varian rolled his eyes,

"Why do you talk like that?" He was going for sassy but Ray could only see him as his  _ "sweet precious little trinket"  _

"Well because it's proper, don't worry you'll pick it up eventually." He had no intention of picking up anything. He finished the food and Ray had him taken to his room "Go get some sleep, you'll need energy for tomorrow." 

Once in his room again he quickly took off the insufferable clothes and put on the night clothing that he was given. It was one of those night gowns, he knew they were meant for boys and girls but it was still weird. "This is a dress, why am I wearing a dress??" he said to himself as he looked in the mirror. He was captured because of his cuteness, which as a 16 year old isn't something you want to be called often, but what if he wasn't cute? Could this have all been avoided? He crawled into bed and put out his arm but no one slid underneath.  _ Right, Ruddigers not here _ he thought. It was childish but in that moment Varian really wanted something to cuddle, oh no Raymond was right, he was cute. Did everyone think he was cute? His dad? Rapunzel? Eugene? Lance? a-and Cass? What about her? What about everyone? He sure hoped not. It would be weird if all his friends thought he was just a cute little kid. He reached for one of the extra pillows and snuggled into it.  _ I hope no one sees this _ he thought as he drifted of to sleep

He awoke in the morning and saw that his bed was now piled with stuffed animals. _Oh no, someone_ _saw._ There were all kinds of animals but the pillow he was cuddling was replaced with a raccoon stuffy. How did they know? He tried to get up but he knocked a few off the bed. He picked them up and put them back, there were sooo many, it was a pretty big bed but still they almost covered the whole thing! Out of instinct he walked to the closest and opened it. It was full of clothes the same style as what he wore last night. Great, puffy pants and big hats, this is my look now he would rather wear that then a night dress though, so he changed into one of the outfits. This one was the same but it was a teal-blue-green type colour. The hat was still too big and the curly toed shoes, just as strange. He looked outside the window, Raymond was out there, it looked like he was giving an announcement but what? it occurred to Varian that he still had no clue where he was. He looked at the labels on some of the stuffed animals "Dorr'' Dorr? He didn't recognize the name, he really needed a map. Someone opened his door and he turned around quickly, causing his hat to fall over his face, this is gonna get old really fast he thought.

"Oh you're awake! I- um oh," a woman said he couldn't see her cuz the hat covered his eyes, but when he lifted it he saw one of the maids.  _ Why did she think I'd be asleep, what was she gonna do? _ Then he saw she had a stuffed animal behind her back. Oh, they must have been sneaking them into his bed all night. "Well this was for you but nevermind." She held the animal in her hand. It was an elephant

"I'm sure there's room somewhere for this little guy." He was feeling a little lonely and maybe a bunch of stuffys would help, I mean it wouldn't hurt right? He put it onto the bed. She smiled.

"Well if you're up why don't I take you to get some breakfast?" 

"Sure, sounds good." He wanted to try to be nice to this lady, after all it wasn't her fault her king was insane, she just worked for him. She took him to the table and a chef brought out some food. As he was eating he started talking with her,

"Hey no offense but your King is a-"

"Lunatic? Yeah we know. I don't know what's wrong with him, but something definitely is." He was surprised to hear this from here. Even his subjects knew he was crazy? But they didn't do anything? As if she read his mind she continued on to say, "We can't do anything about it though, there are strict laws about the monarchy and the freedoms they have, he can do whatever he wants. None of us can change that." She looked sad when she said this and her voice got a little quieter. Then the King walked in.  _ Oh great, he's done his speech,  _ looking at Varian the King smiled

"Don't you look absolutely  _ dashing!  _ Perfect for today's activities!" Whatever those "activities" were Varian wanted no part in them.

"And what are these activities exactly?" 

"Why your public viewing of course" Varian didn't like the sound of that.

_ "Public viewing? _ " Varian repeated. What was that?

"Yes now come along we must get you ready!" He was led to the throne room but there was something new now. A large rectangle shaped box, with one glass wall so you could see inside.  _ What the heck is that for?  _ He was lead to a door in the back,  _ Public viewing _ the words rang in his head  _ oh no  _

"Hey what are you doing!?" He struggled as they tried to put him in it. "Let me go!" He managed to run a few steps away but someone grabbed his arm. He felt a small jolt of pain and saw a needle go in. He swayed and then fell to the floor unconscious.

When he awoke his arm stung. He rubbed it and heard a clamoring of muffled voices. His vision was still a little blurry and he hadn't regained full consciousness yet. He looked around but didn't see anything, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he realized he was in a large box.  _ What is this? Why am I here?  _ He heard, a little more clearly now, someone say, "And now here he is! The cutest thing around, and the newest addition to my collection! I give you! Varian!" 

Suddenly it got super bright, he shielded his eyes. Then he saw through the glass, he was on some sort of stage and saw tons of people below him, he couldn't see to the sides. All these people were just looking at him, some seemed sad others didn't care. He tried to bang on the glass but his arms felt like jello.  _ What was in that needle? _ Then he saw Raymond walk in front of the glass. Varian tried to wake up his limbs but to no use. He just sat there, on a small wooden stool, half awake, with countless people staring at him, like a caged animal. He felt a little movement return to his arms and pushed them against the glass. It didn't move. They still felt sore. He tried to stand but his legs still didn't respond. Whatever they stuck inside him was strong.

"Just look at him! Isn't he precious!?" The king continued, "And so well behaved!" Varian glared at him. This man was deranged! This had to be illegal right!? The maid said it wasn't but he couldn't really do this right!?  _ I need to get home and fast! _ he hit the glass again and this time it actually made a noise, a small thud but it was enough to catch Ray's attention. "Looks like our little sleepy head finally woke up, why not give a little wave to all your visitors? That is what they came for, to see you. And how about a smile? It's such a cute little smile." He would not be smiling any time soon and especially not for this guy. Varian looked at him and hit the glass again, slightly harder this time. He tried to speak but he couldn't, why couldn't he speak? Was it a part of that sedative? Well if he couldn't talk he could still hit this glass kind of. "What, you're shy? Is that it? It's ok, they just want to see you smile. That's all you have to do from now on  _ sit, smile, and wave _ ." an eerie grin spread across his face as he said this, leaning closely into the glass, his nose almost touched it. Varian felt slightly frightened by this and pushed himself as far back as he could. It wasn't very far, the box was only big enough for sitting and standing space, with a little wiggle room, but not much. The smile on the King's face told him that it would be unwise to not do what he said, but he couldn't just be his little doll! The fear spread to the rest of his mind as Varian looked at the King's growing smile. He looked at the crowd and back at Raymond, nodding. The King understood and moved to the side, giving them a clear view at Varian. He looked at them, then he smiled and waved to them.

His visibly forced smile and his weak wave was enough to please the king. There he did it, was this over now?  _ I can't believe I just did that _ he thought. The king looked at him and then turned to the crowd "That's all for today my subjects! The show is sadly at it's close. And now we bid you adieu!" Varian saw the back door of the box open, are they letting me out? Nope. Another needle jabbed into his arm. What was that for!? The other one hasn't... even fully... worn... off... he fell back asleep. He woke up back in the bed. He had probably slept longer this time cuz he felt like he could move.  _ If they keep sticking needles in me one of these days I might not wake up, _ He slowly got to his feet and looked out the window, rubbing his eyes. It was past noon. He stretched his arms and legs, soon they felt normal again. He knocked on the door "Is anybody there?" Good he could talk again, now he could give that maniac a piece of his mind! The door opened

"Oh hello, sorry about the uh- needles, and everything else. Like I said we can't do anything about it." It was the girl from before, well maybe she couldn't do anything about it but he could sure try. 

"I need to talk to the King." He said taking a little inspiration from his dads  _ "serious voice"  _

"The king would be happy to see you, right this way." She led him to the throne room he had become oh so familiar with. He was glad to see the box was gone, but as soon as he saw Raymond his teeth started grinding. 

"Ah there you are, my little cutie pie, how was you rest?" 

**_"You are a deranged lunatic!!"_ ** Varian started, he had a lot of things to get off his chest,  **"You took me away from my home! And my family! You had your guards take me here in a sack! You made me where these stupid clothes! And this oversized hat!"** At this part he threw the hat on the ground  **"You literally put me in a** **_display case_ ** **and showed me off to your subjects!! I'm sick and tired of all this craziness! I'm not an animal! I'm not your** **_pet!_ ** **And I'm not your** **_precious little trinket!!_ ** **I'm not your** **_Anything!_ ** **_"_ **

Raymond was stuck, what had just happened? Why was his cuteness yelling at him? No one had ever spoken to him like this before, it was all so new. Was he just confused? Surely he didn't mean all the things he said? Yes, confused is all. Just a confused little boy. But his anger seemed so real, he didn't think such a small thing could get that angry. No- just confused is all. He looked at the boy, his face had become almost red. He looked so cute when he was angry! Raymond let out a giggle, then it drifted into a full on laugh. Varian just stood there, this was not the reaction he was expecting. Was this guy seriously too insane to understand that everything about this was wrong!? "What!? No- w-why are you laughing!?" 

"My dear dear boy," the laugh slowed, "No one has ever spoken to me like that before, I must say it surprised me at first. So much rage coming out of such a small package, but I see now that you were just confused, you're not really mad." What!? Could he not take a hint!? 

"What is with you!? I'm not confused!" 

"You're not?" The king began to sound a little peeved, but not quite angry yet, how could he be mad at his precious little cutie! "Well if you're not confused... Then you really are mad." His eyes narrowed and he started to walk towards Varian. "I can't have you being mad now, can I?" He was very close to him now, but Varian stood his ground. "Maybe you just need another dose?" Varian saw someone walk in with a needle in their hands, it was larger than the other ones. His scowl faltered for a moment, as well as blood he was afraid of needles. Varian grabbed the spot on his arm where the other needles struck. He slowly started to regret his decision to  _ "give this guy a piece of his mind" _ he took a step back. "Now, you go to your room and think about how wrong everything you said was, or this needle will do it for you." Varian inched away from the king nodding. "Good, now go be a good boy and go to your room." Varian took one last look at the needle, his arms tightened and he slowly followed a guard to his room.

Varian sat on his bed, this king didn't respond to anger or reason the only thing that seemed to get any reaction from him was- the door opened. Three maids walked in. One was the girl from before. The tallest one handed him a handkerchief. He took it. 

"We're sorry you're um retaliation didn't go as planned." She said. 

"This guy’s just too messed up to listen to any type of reason." He replied.

The girl who he talked with in the morning joined in "There might be one way to get to him though." 

"What? I think I'd do anything at this point." He really wanted out of there.

"Well use the thing he keeps you here for, turn it against him." Varian knew where she was going with this, the idea crossed his mind but he  _ really _ didn't want to do it. But he didn't want to stay here either. 

"Are you  _ sure _ it's the only way?" 

"It might be, there's no harm in trying." And so it was decided. They had a plan, now it was time to go through with it. The maids left, they couldn't start until the next morning. So he had to wait, he didn't get any food that night, but the maids managed to slip him a little something. And suddenly it was nightfall. He lay in bed running the plan through his head.  _ This is gonna suck _ he thought.

In the morning he had asked to see Ray again. As they made to walk to the throne room he sighed, what he was about to do was going to be... difficult. They got there and he walked up to the throne, _ I can't believe I'm about to do this.  _ "K-king Raymond?" He said, making his voice shaky, like he was close to tears. "I'm sorry about what I said yesterday, you were right, I was confused." The King smiled

"There there now, it's alright." 

"I-I just," Was he really doing this? "Really miss my Daddy, and my friends." Apparently he was. A few fake tears fell down his cheeks, "I miss my home, everyone's surely worried about me, I've been missing for a while, wouldn't you get worried if i went missing?" He wiped his eyes.  _ Please let this work! _

"Of course I'd be worried! But your family don't want you as much as I do." 

"Th-they don't want me?" He sobbed 

"No- they do- just I want you more!" The king hated seeing him cry. He was getting flustered,  _ Good its working _

"Will I never see them again? Will I be alone forever?"

"N-No- you have me! I'll give you anything you want." 

"I want my Daddy, and Ruddiger and my friends." He let a few more tears follow.

"Ruddiger, that's your pet, yes? Here, have this." He handed him a stuffed raccoon, Varian knew what to do with this, 

"It just reminds me of him! I want the real Ruddy." He cried louder.

"I- I can’t get him though, what else do you want? I'll give you anything, please." 

"A-anything?" The king nodded, "C-can I send a letter to my Daddy? To tell him where I am? So he's not so worried?" 

"Yes! Of course! Write away! Are you going to be alright now?" Varian nodded and whipped his tears.

"Thank you Your Majesty." He said and quickly went off to his room. "phew! That was awful, but hey it worked." he said once the door closed.

There was paper and a quill on a desk. Ok so now he needed to tell his dad where to look for him. He started the letter, 

_ Dear Dad, _

_ This is Varian, I'm in the castle of Dorr, you have to come and get me. I'm ok but please get Rapunzel, Eugene, and Lance, bring them with you and then come to the castle here. Their king is kinda strange, but if you come I can go home with you. Im not hurt so don't worry about that, but please hurry, I miss you _

_ Sincerely, Varian _

There! That should do it. He didn't give him all the details because if his dad knew everything that happened he'd come charging in here and Raymond might change his mind. Right now he had a chance, but that could change so they had to be careful. He gave the letter to the messenger and he left for Corona. The journey would take a while but at least they would find him soon. He wondered how his dad was doing. The things he said to Raymond were just to trick him, but some of it was true. He did miss him and his dad was probably worried.  _ Once they get that letter everything will be alright _ but that would take a few days.

-

Varian had been missing for about two weeks. Quirin was doing terribly, he hadn't slept much, he didn't know where his son was or if he was ok. A knock at the door startled him and he went to answer it. A man holding a letter stood there. "Are you Quirin? Father of Varian?" He asked

"Varian!? Yes! Do you know where he is!? Is he alright!?" 

"This is for you." He handed him the letter and walked away

"Wait! What about my son!? Is he ok!?" The man paid no notice. Quirin looked at the letter, it had the Royal seal of Dorr on it. Dorr was a two and a half days ride from here. He quickly opened the letter and read the message from Varian. Varian! He was ok! Well not hurt, now he needed to go to Dorr to get him. Why was he at the castle in Dorr? It didn't matter he just had to get his son back. Quirin explained everything to Varians friends and they all started the journey to Dorr.  _ Im almost there Varian, don't worry I'm coming, just hold on _ he thought as they traveled

After the long journey the group arrived at Castle Dorr. Varian saw them out his window approaching the gates. He nearly forgot about the ridiculous outfit he was wearing and dashed down to the main hall. This was it he had one chance to get Raymond off the edge and then he'd be home free! He saw the king and looked up at him, "Your Majesty, my dad's here, please can I go see him?" 

"He's here? Well alright then we'll go meet him down in the court yard. Why is he here?" Varian had to think of something fast.

"Um.. to uh see me, all your subjects like to see me, he just wants to see me too." 

"Ah yes, of course he does, who wouldn't want to see you!" It worked good, now he had to convince him to let him go.

"If my Daddy wants me to go home with him... Is that ok?" 

"Go? But- why?" He had one more trick up his sleeve.

"Well about a year ago, my dad was trapped in amber. I thought he was gone and I was alone." Varian explained everything, all the things that happened, how Rapunzel saved him and the king seemed to soften up. "I have him back now and I don't want to lose him again, please?" He looked at Ray with big wet eyes and the king sniffed.

"Why that's quite the story," he sighed, "Go, go be with your family." Yes! It worked! He was free!

"Thank you King Raymond so much!" Did he really have to thank him? He did if he wanted out of there. They got outside and standing there he saw- "Dad!!" He ran into his open arms. They hugged for a moment and that moment was amazing.

"Varian! Are you ok? You're not hurt are you?" He paused, "Varian? What are you wearing?" Suddenly he blushed. 

"Oh- hehe right this- um I'll explain on the way, let's just get out of here ok?" They had to leave before Raymond changed his mind. Eugene and Rapunzel came in and saw his outfit. He looked at Eugene who was holding back a laugh. 

"Eugene I swear if you say anything you will regret it." Eugene bit his lip. Then him, Lance, and Rapunzel joined the hug. "Let's get out of here, come on." Quirin looked at the king, he had some suspicions.

"How did you get here Varian?" Oh no if he found out now they'd never leave.

"I'll tell you once we leave ok? Just we have to get out of here now!" 

"Why? What did he do? What's wrong?" They didn't have time for this!

"Dad! I'll explain everything once we're on the road! Please we have to go!" 

"Varian, what did he do!?" They needed to hurry!

"It's fine Dad please! I'll tell you just we need to go now!" Quirin could tell his son was in a lot of distress and really didn't want to be here.

"Alright, let's go then."

-

Once they got on the road Varian explained everything. "And so I played  _ cute _ to escape, it-it was horrible, but it's over now. Uh Dad?" Quirin's hands were wound into tight fists. He couldn't stand to listen to all the terrible things that happened to his son. 

"How could I let this happen to you?" He said softly. Varian was  _ his _ child, it was  _ his _ job to protect him and keep him safe. He had failed.

"Dad it's not your fault, no one was there, you couldn't have done anything." Varian saw his dad's fists tighten so much he thought it might draw blood.

"That man-" No, he didn't deserve to be called a man, "That _ monster _ dehumanized you, he did horrible, awful, things. I-I'm so sorry I couldn't get you out of there sooner." He pulled Varian into a tight hug and placed a barrage of kisses on his cheeks and forehead. Varian embraced his dad, but then he remembered Rapunzel, Eugene, and Lance were there too and suddenly felt slightly embarrassed. He felt his skin get warm and pulled away a bit.

"Dad what did we say about  _ public displays of affection?" _ Although maybe this time it wasn't  _ too _ bad.

"I thought you'd make an exception considering current… circumstances." Quirin smiled.

"I guess it's ok this time." He flung his arms back around his dad. The journey back to Corona was a long one and soon it was nightfall. Varian started to yawn a bit.

"You tired kid?" Eugene smiled.

"No," he yawned back, "I'm fine... I'm not… tired…" He drifted off to sleep, curled up leaning against his dad and snuggling into him. Quirin smiled and grabbed a blanket off the floor and wrapped it around Varian.

"Goodnight son," he whispered as he placed another kiss on his forehead. Lance pulled the cart to a stop

"We should probably stop for the night, it's getting late." He said. 

"I'll take the first watch." Him, Quirin, Rapunzel and Eugene said at the same time.

"Blondie you should sleep." Eugene looked at his fiance.

"I can still be a part of the watch Eugene, the more watchers the more sleep everyone gets."

"You kids get some sleep, I'll take the first watch." Quirin said.

"Quirin you haven't slept well since Varian went missing-"

"You mean since he got  _ kidnapped. _ " 

"Right- since he got kidnapped, but he's here now and you can relax." 

Quirin sighed, "I just- what if I close my eyes, let down my guard, and then suddenly he- he's gone again. I can't let anything else happen to him." 

"Well I guess you're taking the first shift then, wake me up next ok?" Eugene leaned back a bit and closed his eyes, Rapunzel put her head on his shoulder and fell asleep, Lance told Eugene to wake him up after his shift and went to sleep too. Quirin watched his son, he looked so peaceful, finally he relaxed a bit. Varian was here, he was  _ here and safe at last _ . The watch had been uneventful, until he saw Varians peaceful expression change into one of prue terror. Varian flinched and jolted into an upright position.

**_"Daddy!"_ ** He shouted. "Dad!?" Varian started to cry, "D-Dad?" 

"Varian it's ok I'm here," he grabbed Varians shoulders, "Hey I'm right here ok?" He put his arms around his son and gently stroked his head. "I've got you, I'm right here." He kept repeating. Varian cried into him, partially because he felt embarrassed about crying and screaming  _ Daddy  _ in front of his friends, but mostly because of the nightmare he just had. 

"Hey kid are you okay?" Eugene softly asked. He didn't respond right away, he was trying to focus on breathing.

"It's ok son I've got you, daddy's got you, you're safe now, you're right here, you're ok now," he continued to hold him close. Varians tears slowed. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Varian took a few deep breaths,

"I-I was back, back in th-that place." He looked up at his dad, "A-And the box- and the needles-" He cried louder. "A-And I was all alone- alone except for  _ him. _ " 

"Shhh, hey it's ok, I've got you, I've got you son and I'm not letting go." Quirin held him tighter. "You're not alone anymore, I'm here, and your friends are here." Varian sat up a bit and looked over at everyone else.

"I-I'm sorry I woke you all up." He said quietly.

"No-no Varian it's ok." Rapunzel quickly replied. 

"Yeah kid, besides it was about time for my shift anyway." Eugene added. Varian kinda just nodded his head and scooched closer to his dad.

"Try to go back to sleep now ok son? You need your rest." Quirin stroked his head and pushed his bangs out of his face. 

"A-Alright, I'll try." He curled back into a ball and Quirin placed another kiss on his forehead. Soon Varian was fast asleep again. 

"Hey uh, is he gonna be alright?" Lance asked. 

"He's been through a lot in the past two weeks, it's going to take awhile before things go back to normal, that is if they even do." 

"I think it's sweet how he called you daddy, you probably don't get many of those nowadays." Rapunzel smiled. 

Quirin sighed, "You're right and although I do like to hear him say it, him calling me daddy isn't a good sign."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"He only ever calls me that when he's in deep distress. When he gets really scared or upset. I do like it, but I know what it means and it hurts to know that's how he's feeling." 

"Oh, well that's- I'm sorry." 

"Well it's my shift I guess so you guys should go to sleep." Eugene said, eager to change the topic. Rapunzel agreed and leaned back on his shoulder. 

"Remember to wake me up next." Lance reminded him before falling asleep. Quirin watched Varian, he couldn't go to sleep what if he needed him? What if something happened?

"Quirin you should sleep," Eugene said, noticing that he wasn't. "Don't worry I'm not gonna let anything happen to him." He added, assuming that's why he was staying awake.

"I can't, the last time I slept I woke up and he was gone, I need to make sure he's ok."

"That's what the watch is for," he put his hand on Quirins shoulder. "He needs you, and you can't help him if you don't sleep. Nothing's gonna happen." 

"I'm going to hold you to that," he leaned back and after a moment added, "Thank you Eugene." 

"Yeah, no problem." 

-

The sunrise was the que for the group to start traveling again. Lance reattached Max's saddle to the wagon and they continued on the journey home. Varian was still sleeping at this point and Quirin said to keep going and just let him sleep on the way. Varian woke up after just a few minutes, the bumpy road disturbed his sleep. When he started to blink his eyes open he saw Eugene and Rapunzel sitting across from him, Lance was driving the wagon, and his dad was next to him. As he recalled yesterday's events Rapunzel leaned forward a little, "Good morning sleepy head." She smiled. Suddenly a huge wave of emotions came over Varian, for an instant he was back in that  _ display case,  _ with Raymond smiling at him  _ "Looks like our little sleepy head finally woke up"  _ the sickly sweet voice rang in his ears. A sharp pain went through his arm,  _ n-no he couldn't be back- they came for him- dad came for him.  _ He knew he was safe but he couldn't help but cringe when he repeated the words in his head  _ 'Sleepy head' _ that term was to-  _ cute _ and he wasn't cute.  _ Just calm down she didn't mean anything by it she didn't- _ Varian then realized he didn't actually respond yet. He tried to shake his head free from those memories and looked at Rapunzel,  _ Not Raymond, _ he reminded himself.

"Oh uh- good morning," he stretched out a bit and sat up.

"Did you sleep ok kid? You know after the um... nightmare?" Eugene asked. Varian blushed a bit, he kinda just wished everyone would forget about last night.

"Yeah, yeah it was fine." He wanted to change the subject, "Oh man, my sleep schedule has been so thrown off by all those sedatives. This is like the first non-medical induced sleep I've had for a few days." He stretched, ok maybe not the best topic change but it was something different at least. They all exchanged concerned looks, yeah definitely not a good topic change. He started to rub his arm unconsciously, it was still a little sore from all the injections not to mention the flash he got before. Quirin looked at him

"Does it hurt Varian?" He asked him, already knowing the answer.

"A bit," he nodded. "But it's fine." 

"If it hurts it's not fine." Quirin gestured to Varians sleeve asking if he could roll it up and see. "May I?" Varian nodded. As he lifted the sleeve a large swollen bruise was revealed, you could still see some of the tiny holes left by the needles. Quirin was furious, how could he let this happen? He let his boy get hurt, he didn't protect him. Seeing his dad's horrified expression Varian quickly stated,

"It's not that bad Dad," even though he flinched as the sleeve pulled over it, "I'm fine, really." He insisted.

"Varian you're not fine, you're far from it." Quirin grabbed a first aid kit and pulled out some cream and bandages. He applied the cream and then wrapped up the area of his arm. Then very slowly pulled the sleeve back down and placed a gentle kiss over the bruise. "There- that should be a little better." 

"Thanks Dad, it is." He smiled, "I just wish I had some other clothes to change into." Hopefully a better topic change? 

"Yeah that outfit isn't exactly flattering, I remember sneaking into Equis with the King and we stole uniforms made in a similar style to those clothes you're wearing." Eugene said with a laugh. For him that was a funny recollection, an anecdote, even a 'father son' bonding experience- he wouldn't have known, even after Varian explained everything, he wouldn't be able to know what it meant for Varian, not really.

"I should've brought a change of clothes for you." Quirin said. Couldn't he do anything right? What kind of a father was he? Varian saw how distraught his dad looked, he hadn't intended his "topic change" to turn out like this. 

"Dad there's no way you could have known, it's ok." He could have told him in the letter but that would have made him more suspicious of the King. 

"I still can't believe he did that to you," Rapunzel said "They really need to fix the laws they have for freedom in the monarchy." 

"Y-yeah." he didn't want to think about it really, it was hard to push the thoughts away and even harder to share them, he had told them the gist of what happened but he hadn't gone into  _ too  _ much detail. He'd probably tell Dad more later, when they were alone, he didn't want them to worry more than they already were. 

"Like how is kidnapping, and the other countless things he did, legal!? Something like that could never happen in Corona." Rapunzel continued. Quirin looked at Varian, he could tell that he didn't want to address the subject right now.

"I think maybe we should talk about something else now," Quirin said as he placed a comforting hand on Varians shoulder, "I don't think Varian wants to think about it." 

"Oh- you're right Quirin, Varian I'm sorry, you probably just want to put this whole thing behind you." Rapunzel said regretting bringing up the topic in the first place. 

"It's ok Princess, but yeah I'd rather not talk about it anymore." He said softly. The rest of the day was filled with occasional small talk, it was hard to act like everything was ok, but they didn't want Varian to feel uncomfortable so they avoided the topic. It was late when they finally arrived home, Varian had dozed off and was woken up when the cart came to a shaky stop outside their house. 

"Hey Varian, we're home." Quirin said softly to his half asleep son. 

"Oh, yay," he said tiredly. "Let's go…" he started to stand then he flopped into his Dad's arms, "Oops… lemme try again…" His head fell limp, eyes closed and he drifted back to sleep. Quirin smiled and easily picked up his son.

"Thank you for everything," he looked at the rest of the group, "Varian was very happy to see you all, and I'm glad you were there." 

"Anything for a friend, if he ever needs anything we're always here." Eugene smiled.

"Yes we're always willing to lend a hand." Rapunzel nodded. 

"Tell us how he's doing in the morning ok?" Lance added.

"Of course, thank you all again so much." Quirin then, with Varian in his arms, turned around and walked into the house. 

He slowly walked up the stairs to Varian's room and gently laid him onto his bed. It felt so good to know that he was finally safe again. Quirin placed yet another soft kiss on his son's head and began to walk out of the room,

"Dad wait," his son's tiered hand reached out and latched onto Quirin's. "C-can you stay?" He looked up at his father with a slight fear in his eyes. 

"Of course son," He got into Varian's bed and wrapped his arms around him. "I've got you now, you're safe." He said quietly as he stroked his head. Varian was soon fast asleep, snuggling closer to his dad. Once Varian was asleep Quirin felt like he could finally relax, his son was  _ here  _ and  _ safe _ . Finally away from all the dangerous things of the world, and he intended to keep it that way. Everything was ok now and yet- he knew it would never be the same. His  _ son  _ would never be the same. Even just from watching him on the way back from the horrible kingdom he saw how different he was acting. But it was ok, it's understandable seeing as he had been through so much recently, and it was ok that he would be different. It was ok-  _ he  _ was ok, in  _ this _ moment,  _ everything _ was ok, and Quirin slept soundly next to his little boy and he was  _ never _ going to let  _ anything _ happen to him  _ ever again. _

**Author's Note:**

> Heh heh so yeah- he's a psychopath but we love him (do we though?) Jk if you're here that means you read it and I'll be freaking out cuz AAA SOMEONE READ MY STUFF!  
> I'll hopefully be bringing more stories soon


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